Weymouth & Portland Borough Council determined to see former North Quay offices developed - but there's calls for a rethink as sale delayed

Leader of Weymouth & Portland Borough Council Cllr Jeff Cant said the authority was keen to get the North Quay project moving again – but didn’t know if the sale, which has currently stalled, would pull through.

It comes amid calls for the council to rethink the project and choose a scheme that would see the demolition of the 45-year-old eyesore office block.

The prominent harbourside site earmarked for new homes has stood empty since the council vacated it last year.

As reported, the council was due to complete the sale of the site to developer Acorn South, but the firm – which intends to convert the offices into new apartments – ‘declined’ to purchase it by the agreed date at the end of July, as per the contract.

Acorn is locked in a separate planning dispute with the council about how it wants to go about converting the block, with an appeal to be heard later in the year.

Councillors discussed confidential ‘contractual issues’ in private in relation to the sale after a management committee meeting last week, the details of which are not being made public.

Cllr Cant said he could not reveal details of what was discussed, but said he did not know if the sale would go ahead.

“I really have no idea,” he said.

He added: “We are faced with an organisation which is saying ‘we won’t complete this’ at the moment.”

Cllr Cant also said he did not know why Acorn had declined to complete the sale, adding: “All we can say is the council has done everything with regard to the contractual arrangement and now we are just waiting to see how this develops following the meeting.”

He added: “It’s very unusual so clearly the council is frustrated and we are anxious to get it moving forward again. We are doing our best to resolve it but it’s not completely in our hands.”

Cllr Cant also said he could not be sure that any issues with the contract would be resolved quickly.

He said: “I think I cannot say that about this particular deal because of the stage we are at. Frustrating though it is, we will drive the project forward one way or another over the coming months.”

An Acorn South spokesman said: “We have a contractual relationship with the council and our respective lawyers are continuing their dialogue concerning our purchase of the site.”

IN THE public session at the management committee meeting, Cllr Jon Orrell – who last year led a demonstration supporting a ‘sympathetic’ redevelopment of North Quay (pictured above) – said the offices were being sold to developers “who are not developing them” and urged the council to “end this arrangement and start again.”

Many locals had hoped the new owner of the site would knock the offices down and build something new in its place.

A petition on change.org calling for a ‘proper development’ at North Quay has attracted more than 1,570 signatures.

Cllr Orrell added that “two churches have lost key car parking” due to the closure of the North Quay car park, and said the council now has “this brief window of opportunity to keep local control.”

Cllr Cant suggested Cllr Orrell was exploiting the situation, saying: “This is opportunistic politics. The management committee made a nine to one decision to sell.”

He added: “We have sold it unconditionally and we are waiting to see what happens with this deal.”

Cllr Orrell said after the meeting: "I visited St Malo last month. It was 90 per cent flattened by wartime bombing. Yet it has been restored to its former glory and an attractive tourist destination.

"We deserve the same, with mixed use redevelopment including restaurants and bars by the harbour. All this is in the local plan. It pays more. It looks better. It's time to do this."

After the meeting, local historian Mark Vine – who has previously called for North Quay to be properly excavated – agreed the stalling of the sale was an opportunity to reconsider the plans for the site.

He said: “I think it is absolutely necessary to rethink it because there is so much bad feeling in the town about that building. They destroyed the old Tudor and medieval high street of Weymouth to build it and even today it still rankles with people.”

He proposed that the North Quay car park should become the site of an archaeological dig, as it is thought to contain crucial information about the origins of Weymouth, and said the current offices should be “demolished” to build shops, houses or offices in keeping with the architecture of old Weymouth.

Graham Perry, who is involved with launching a new shop on North Quay said: “I am very concerned about the effect that the current unnecessary loss of car parking is having on local businesses who are already struggling.

"More importantly in the long term I think most residents had hoped for a development that would enhance the harbourside and attract more visitors.”

Regarding loss of car parking at North Quay, a council spokesman said the authority is still aiming to complete the sale and will have to give vacant possession of the whole property when it does, so it can’t bring the car park back into use.